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Iran strong enough without nuclear weapons â€“ Iranâ€™s ambassador

04 February 2010 20:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ziya Agazade â€“ APA. Iran has no plans to develop nuclear weapons because the country is strong enough to protect its interests without them, the Iranian ambassador to Russia said on Thursday, APA reports citing â€œRia Novostiâ€.

Western powers suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the current uranium enrichment program. Iran has denied the claims.

"First of all, we believe that the might of any country is based on the national unity rather than on nuclear weaponry. We believe in our national might, in our national unity," Seyyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi said at a news conference in RIA Novosti. "Secondly, nuclear weaponry has no place either in our religion or in our defense doctrine, and we believe that we are strong enough to protect our national interests using traditional methods," he said.

The diplomat confirmed that Tehran is still working on a formula to swap its low enriched uranium for 20%-enriched material despite the current deadlock in negotiations on this issue with international mediators.

"We believe that if the IAEA and other parties in the negotiation process choose the right approach [toward the issue], this exchange will take place," Sajjadi said.
Under a plan drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last October, the Islamic Republic was supposed to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia, where it would be enriched and then sent to France where it would be made into fuel rods for an Iranian reactor.

Tehran rejected the proposal and suggested it could consider a simultaneous swap of its low-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched uranium, but that the exchange should be simultaneous and would have to take place on its own territory. Since Iran missed a year-end deadline to accept the deal, Western powers have been talking about exerting more "pressure" on Iran, which is already under three sets of sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated a possible change in Tehran’s position by saying on Tuesday that Tehran had "no problem" with shipping out its low enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment into 20% fuel for its nuclear research reactor. Mediators from the Iran Six - Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany - are currently discussing the transition from talks to new sanctions against Tehran.

The United States and France have said they would seek new strong sanctions from the UN against Iran while China insists there is still room for diplomatic efforts in resolving the Iran nuclear issue.